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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · tear · rule · land · leaves · racket

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. land — ground
  3. tear — from crying
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. land — a country
  6. rule — government
  7. tear — from crying
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. land — to come down
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. rule — a law
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — in golf
  17. tear — to rip
  18. rule — to rule out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com